Table of Contents

Evaluation of the Focused Offender Disposition Program in Birmingham, Phoenix, and Chicago, 1988-1992 (ICPSR 6214)

Principal Investigator(s):Hepburn, John R., Arizona State University

Summary:

The Drug Testing Technology/Focused Offender Disposition
(FOD) program was designed to examine two issues regarding drug users
in the criminal justice system: (1) the utility of need assessment
instruments in appropriately determining the level of treatment and/or
supervision needed by criminal offenders with a history of drug use,
and (2) the use of urinalysis monitoring as a deterrent to subsequent
drug use. This data collection consists of four datasets from three
sites. The FOD progra... (more info)

The Drug Testing Technology/Focused Offender Disposition
(FOD) program was designed to examine two issues regarding drug users
in the criminal justice system: (1) the utility of need assessment
instruments in appropriately determining the level of treatment and/or
supervision needed by criminal offenders with a history of drug use,
and (2) the use of urinalysis monitoring as a deterrent to subsequent
drug use. This data collection consists of four datasets from three
sites. The FOD program was first established in Birmingham, Alabama,
and Phoenix, Arizona, in December 1988 and ran through August
1990. The Chicago, Illinois, program began in October 1990 and ended
in March 1992. These first three programs studied probationers with a
history of recent drug use who were not incarcerated while awaiting
sentencing. The subjects were assessed with one of two different
treatment instruments. Half of all clients were assessed with the
objective Offender Profile Index (OPI) created by the National
Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD). The
other half were assessed with the local instrument administered in
each site by Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime (TASC),
Inc. Regardless of which assessment procedure was used, offenders were
then randomly assigned to one of two groups. Half of all offenders
assessed by the OPI and half of the offenders assessed by the local
instrument were assigned to a control group that received only random
urinalysis monitoring regardless of the drug treatment intervention
strategy prescribed by the assessment instrument. The other half of
offenders in each assessment group were assigned to a treatment group
that received appropriate drug intervention treatment. The Phoenix
pilot study (Part 4), which ran from March 1991 to May 1992, was
designed like the first Phoenix study, except that the sample for the
pilot study was drawn from convicted felons who were jailed prior to
sentencing and who were expected to be sentenced to probation. These
data contain administrative information, such as current offense,
number of arrests, number of convictions, and prior charges. The need
assessment instruments were used to gather data on clients' living
arrangements, educational and vocational backgrounds, friendships,
history of mental problems, drug use history, and scores measuring
stakes in conformity. In addition, the study specifically collected
information on the monitoring of the clients while in the FOD program,
including the number of urinalyses administered and their results, as
well as the placement of clients in treatment programs. The files also
contain demographic information, such as age, race, sex, and
education.

A downloadable version of data for this study is available however, certain identifying information in the downloadable version may have been masked or edited to protect respondent privacy. Additional data not included in the downloadable version are available in a restricted version of this data collection. For more information about the differences between the downloadable data and the restricted data for this study, please refer to the codebook notes section of the PDF codebook. Users interested in obtaining restricted data must complete and sign a Restricted Data Use Agreement, describe the research project and data protection plan, and obtain IRB approval or notice of exemption for their research.

Study Description

Citation

Hepburn, John R. EVALUATION OF THE FOCUSED OFFENDER DISPOSITION PROGRAM IN BIRMINGHAM, PHOENIX, AND CHICAGO, 1988-1992. ICPSR version. Tempe, AZ: Arizona State University [producer], 1993. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1999. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR06214.v1

The user guide, codebook, and data collection
instruments are provided as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. The
PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated and can be
accessed using PDF reader software, such as the Adobe Acrobat
Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy of the Acrobat Reader is
provided through the ICPSR Website on the Internet.

Methodology

Study Purpose:
The Drug Testing Technology/Focused Offender
Disposition (FOD) program was designed to examine two questions
regarding drug users in the criminal justice system. One was the
utility of need assessment instruments in appropriately determining
the level of treatment and/or supervision needed by criminal offenders
with a history of drug use. Specifically, the researchers wanted to
test whether the Offender Profile Index instrument provided a more
accurate assessment of the treatment needs of drug-using probationers
than the local assessment instrument used at each site. The second
question focused on the use of urinalysis monitoring as a deterrent to
subsequent drug use. Researchers asked whether urinalysis monitoring
alone was as successful as when urinalysis monitoring was combined
with some standard treatment-based intervention. After the completion
of the original FOD program in Phoenix, a pilot program was developed
to include only those offenders on probation who were detained in jail
prior to sentencing. The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the
constraints involved in implementing a FOD program with this
particular offender population. In addition, the researchers sought to
compare the success of urinalysis monitoring between regular
probationers and probationers who served jail time prior to
sentencing.

Study Design:
The FOD program was first established in
Birmingham, Alabama, and Phoenix, Arizona, in December 1988 and ran
through August 1990. The Chicago, Illinois, program began in October
1990 and ended in March 1992. The program at each site provided an
experimental design for evaluative analysis. The design called for
probationers with a history of recent drug use to be assessed with one
of two different treatment instruments. Half of all clients were
assessed with the objective Offender Profile Index (OPI) designed by
the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors
(NASADAD). The other half were assessed with the local instrument
administered in each site by Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime
(TASC), Inc., a nationwide service provider that assesses and
sometimes treats drug users. The local TASC instrument in Birmingham
and Chicago was a highly subjective clinical interview, while the
Phoenix TASC assessment was a more objective instrument called the
Risk Assessment Scale (RAS). After administering the instrument, the
clients' levels of assessed need were grouped into four categories:
(1) urinalysis only, (2) outpatient care with urinalysis, (3)
short-term residential care with urinalysis, and (4) long-term
residential care with urinalysis. Regardless of which assessment
procedure was used, offenders were then randomly assigned to one of
two groups. Half of all offenders assessed by the OPI and half of the
offenders assessed by the local instrument were assigned to a control
group. Control group clients received only a program of random
urinalysis monitoring, regardless of the drug treatment intervention
strategy prescribed by the assessment instrument. The other half of
offenders in each assessment group were assigned to the treatment
group. These clients received the drug intervention treatment
consistent with their assessed need for treatment. Due to important
differences in the implementation of the FOD program at each site and
the characteristics of the probationers who participated in the
program, comparisons among the three sites are not recommended. The
Phoenix pilot study, which ran from March 1991 to May 1992, was
designed like the first Phoenix study, except that the sample for the
pilot study was drawn from convicted felons who were jailed prior to
sentencing and who were expected to be sentenced to probation.

Sample:
The original FOD program included offenders with a history
of recent drug use who were placed on probation and who were not
incarcerated while awaiting sentencing. Participation was mandated in
Birmingham and in some cases in Chicago, and voluntary in Phoenix and
in some cases in Chicago. The Phoenix follow-up pilot study
participants were referred to the program by pre-sentence
investigators and included only those qualified offenders who were
incarcerated while awaiting sentencing.

Description of Variables:
These data contain administrative information, such
as current offense, number of arrests, number of convictions, and
prior charges. The need assessment instruments were used to gather
data on clients' living arrangements, educational and vocational
backgrounds, friendships, history of mental problems, drug use
history, and scores measuring stakes in conformity. In addition, the
study specifically collected information on the monitoring of the
clients while in the FOD program, including the number of urinalyses
administered and their results, as well as the placement of clients in
treatment programs. The files also contain demographic information,
such as age, race, sex, and education.

Response Rates:
Not applicable.

Presence of Common Scales:
Several Likert-type scales were used.

Extent of Processing: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of
disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major
statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to
these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

Standardized missing values.

Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.

Version(s)

Original ICPSR Release:1999-02-25

Version History:

2006-03-30 File CB6214.ALL.PDF was removed from any previous datasets and flagged as a study-level file, so that it will accompany all downloads.

2005-11-04 On 2005-03-14 new files were added to one
or more datasets. These files included additional setup files as well
as one or more of the following: SAS program, SAS transport, SPSS portable,
and Stata system files. The metadata record was revised 2005-11-04 to
reflect these additions.